


From A Certain Point of View

by nerdgirlwalking



Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Star Wars Setting, F/F, shoot week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-26
Updated: 2017-05-26
Packaged: 2018-11-05 01:56:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11003586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nerdgirlwalking/pseuds/nerdgirlwalking
Summary: Root was not a Jedi. Though the group of witless bounty hunters who lucked their way into capturing her didn't seem to know the difference between the Force or a stiff breeze. Attempting to explain the subtle nuances between her path and that of other Force-users would be a waste of what little time she has before these idiots turn her over to the Empire for the bounty on her head however. As it turns out she might need a little more than the Force to get out of this one.





	From A Certain Point of View

**Author's Note:**

> SHOOT WEEK!  
> Shout out to cedarwoods for getting the word out, collecting prompts like this one, and being awesome in general.  
> Alright, you all should have known that my geeky, AU and Princess Leia loving ass was going to pick this prompt (Though granted if you've never stumbled upon my twitter you might not know about that last one). And while I was going to save it until later in the week, I rethought that notion as it is the 40th anniversary of A New Hope being released, so I felt I had to push this posting to today (even if the 25th is just about over).  
> Thank you to whoever suggested a Star Wars AU. I hope I managed to make it work. I went for some deep cuts from the Legends side of the universe to make some stuff work. Though if it doesn't, waves hand, these aren't the droids you were looking for.  
> As always I hope all of you have at least half as much reading it as I did writing it!

 

**A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…**

 

Root sat silently as she watched the men move around her in the cramped confines of the dining space. Their transport was small. Too small to contain a proper brig. It was little more than a modified hobby barge, never meant to make long solo trips through hyperspace before these idiots got their hands on it. Thus the tiny galley, wedged between the engine room and a miniscule storage area, served dual purposes.

The group of bounty hunters she had run into had been exceptionally fortunate to be carrying a massive amount of anesthetic gas. Her brow furrowed as she remembered the sight of several canisters being lobbed in her path. Red smoke closing in on her from all sides. She was going to be hungover for days.

She took a quick inventory. Her weapons were missing. She was, however, still wearing most of her armor. Her gauntlets had been removed. She assumed her helmet was still on the backwater dump they had found her on. Her mistake for taking it off in the first place. Their little trick with the gas never would have worked otherwise.

Root sighed. Lesson learned, she supposed.

They had left her with two guards, she noticed. One was an older Aqualish that reeked of alcohol. He was a Quara if she remembered her subspecies correctly. They were the walrus looking ones with the clawed hands. Force be praised it wasn’t an Ualaq. She simply detested spiders.

The other guard, a young human boy, was far less interesting. In fact, he looked barely able to shave. She tilted her head. Slightly underfed too. Might explain why someone so young would sign on with men such as this to begin with. She knew for a fact, that hunger could be a powerful motivator.  

_Spare that one if you can_.

Root almost rolled her eyes. It wasn’t that she didn’t agree with the voice. On the contrary she was more inclined than most to spare opponents these days, especially ones so young. It was just that she was in no position at the moment to show mercy, being bound, outnumbered, and slightly addled from the gas, as she was.

Adding to her dilemma was the fact that her hands were cuffed. Though small favor, they were in front of her. That was careless on the part of her hosts. She assumed they felt comforted by the fact that the binder was also attached to a length of heavy chain, which was bolted to the floor. She couldn’t raise her hands much higher than her waist at the moment.

Root turned her attention to the doorway leading out to the rest of the ship. She could hear the steady clomp of boots against the decking. Someone was coming.

She tilted her head. Three. Two bi-pedal humanoids, one droid, judging by the echo.

The leader of the bunch, a Chiss with a pronounced blaster burn on the left side of his jaw, came into the room. His second, a woman dressed in full black and blue Mandalorian-style armor, followed at his heels. Those two were her biggest concern. The others were rank amateurs, prone to violence but not true masters of it. They were the sort who were lucky to fall in with any organized company at all. But those two, they were artisans, honed for all sorts of violent ends. One could tell from the way they moved.

The droid remained by the door, taking up a sentinel position. The Chiss’ red eyes narrowed as he noticed Root observing them. He glowered at the boy. “Thought I told you to alert me when she was awake?”

The boy startled. “She’s not…” He turned his head to look at Root. She wiggled her fingers at him. “Oh.” The woman slapped him on the back of the head.

“Sorry, Tann.”

The Chiss, Tann apparently, walked over and kicked the chair out from under the Quara. He let out a noise that was something between a growl and a gurgle at being awoken in such a fashion. “Go soak your damn head,” Tann barked, the blue of his cheeks going almost indigo with his anger. The Quara fell all over himself to stumble from the room. “And tell Varner and Jebb to get in here.”

“That wise?” The woman asked. Even through the helmet she had a pleasant voice. “Varner’s still pissed about his arm.”

Oh that must have been the one that rushed Root before the others could lob all the gas canisters in. He was fun. For all of three seconds.

“He’ll get over it.”

As scintillating as that conversation was, Root needed some answers. “What is your purpose in taking me captive?” They weren’t Imperials. There was no reason for them to hold any particular care nor concern for the installation she had been in the process of destroying when they stumbled upon her.

“Bounty.” He smiled. Of course. That was a poor question she supposed. Though his response did show he was willing to talk to her. Now it was simply a matter of getting him to reveal the right information. “Do you have any idea how much the Imperials are willing to pay for one of your kind?”

“My kind,” Root snorted. “Oh I assure you there’s no one else quite like me.”

“Great, we picked up a Jedi with delusions of grandeur,” The woman grumbled. She was fidgeting with something in her hand. Root couldn’t quite see what it was. “We shouldn’t have used up all the gas.”

“I can’t say I’m disappointed to hear that you won’t be attempting to suffocate me again this trip, but I am magnanimous enough to admit that was a clever move on your part.” Tactics well above the station of most bounty hunters in the very least, using common medical supplies to basically sever her connection to the Force, she’d go so far as to call it a stroke of brilliance.

That is if they hadn’t been so foolish, just now, as to tell her they couldn’t do it again.

Tann smiled. He gestured to the woman wearing black and blue Mandalorian armor. "Katan here has fought Jedi before."

"How adorable." Even if Root wasn’t a Jedi.

"Where'd you say you got that kyber crystal?"

The woman held a clear prism aloft. Ah that explained the fidgeting. "Pulled it out of what was left of the bastard's lightsaber after I hit him with three thermal detonators."

Impressive, if a bit clumsy. "Well, I do like a gal who's thorough."

"Maybe they'll let us keep one of hers and you can have a matching set?" So they had also been foolish enough to bring her weapons on board. This kept getting better and better.

"Maybe," Katan shrugged. She slipped the crystal back into a pouch on her belt. "Either way, I'm still taking my fair share of the credits."

“I do hope you asked for extra.” They’d surely earn it.

“You’re going to bring us enough credits to retire on,” Tann smirked. He was about to add something else when the sound of boots and raised voices floated in from the open door.

“So the Jedi-bitch is finally awake?” A squat, balding man asked as he stomped through the door. His clothes were threadbare, the high collared tunic was sweat stained and a good size too small. What was left of his left arm was tightly wrapped against his chest. Root assumed his hand and forearm got left behind, in the chaos of bringing her onboard. Such a tragedy. A Rodian wearing a black flight suit followed just behind the human.

“What have I told you about using that word, Varner?” Katan growled.

“Nothing I give a damn about,” He replied.

So Varner was the one armed human, which meant the Rodian with him was Jebb. My wasn’t this a motley crew. “You don’t honestly expect to hold me all the way back to the central systems do you?” Once the last remnants of the gas were out of her bloodstream, she wouldn’t need her weapons to tear these morons apart.

“Not at all,” Tann coolly replied. “That’s thanks to you actually.”

“Oh? Must say I’m intrigued.”

“Yeah seems like someone blew up a research station not far from the planet we found you on.”

Two stations actually. “Do tell. I love a good explosion.”

“I do too. Especially when the one causing it is carrying lightsabers and gets caught on a security holo, which draws Lord Vader’s attention. Apparently, he was already in route when we captured you. We’re meeting him tomorrow to collect the sizeable bounty on your head. So you see we only have to hold you for a few more hours.”

Well, that was less than promising news. “That is quite the plan indeed.”

Katan cleared her throat. “Should you really have told her that, Sir?”

“Why not?”

She shrugged. “Got a bad feeling.”

“Why are you suddenly jumpy? The gas was your idea. You said it would neutralize her powers.”

“I said it would knock her on her ass and it did. We have no way of knowing how quickly her system may metabolize it.” Now that was an excellent point. Lethal and smart. Root’s kind of girl.

Varner seemed to decide that it was a good time to open his mouth. “I say we kill her now. Bounty is still good either way.”

“If we wanted to kill her we would have done that to begin with.” Root snorted. She’d like to see them try now that she was awake. “The whole point was to collect the higher bounty for a live captive.”

“I say the money’s still good if she’s dead.” He drew his blaster and pointed it at Root. His arm was shaking. He’d need to work on strengthening the grip of his newly dominant hand. She doubted he’d be able to afford a decent cybernetic replacement for the missing one.

“And that’s why you’re not the captain.”

“Just because you’re fucking the captain,” He spat back at her, “Doesn’t mean you get to tell me what to do, girlie.”

Katan loosened the strap holding her sidearm to her hip. The other crew members gathered around the pair tensed at the sight. “The only one I’m about to fuck up is you if you don’t put that gun down.”

Root decided it was a good time to interject. She wasn’t interested in seeing the boy get caught in the middle of a blaster fight. No matter how convenient for her it would be for the others to kill each other where they stood. "How is the new look working for you, ah Varner was it? Feeling lighter?" She smirked.

"How about I go grab one of your little swords and cut your arm off?" He came closer, keeping the blaster trained on her head.

"Varner!" Katan barked. "Stand down. Now!"

“Like I said you aint the captain either, Katan. I’ll stand where I please,” He sneered. She stepped into Varner’s personal space. The move placed her between the man and Root, who couldn’t help but notice the woman had a very nice ass under all that armor.

Katan, unaware of Root’s leering, grabbed Varner by the collar. The move placed the barrel of his blaster just under her chin, though she seemed completely unbothered by it. "The prisoner stays locked down. The lightsabers stay locked down. If you fuck with either of those directives, I'll cut off something you love a lot more than your arm."

“Katan!” This time it was Tann who spoke up. “Release him.”

“Yeah, release me.” With that Katan shoved him backwards. The force of the push caused him to stumble back several steps. When he recovered his wits, Varner raised his blaster again, this time pointing it at Katan. “You’re not better than me,” He sneered at her.

“Want to pull that trigger and find out?” Katan asked.

“Enough,” Tann cut in. “Take a walk, Varner. I changed my mind.”

“I’m fine,” He growled.

“And as Katan pointed out, I’m still Captain. Get. Out.” When he looked like he was about to argue, Katan drew her blaster. Varner eyed her warily; seemed the idiot was contemplating trying his luck. Root shook her head. How had someone so foolish managed to live this long?

The tension was thick for a moment longer, but just when Root was certain Katan was going to open fire, Varner raised his hands. “Buncha moof-milkers, all of you.” He turned and stomped out of the room.     

“There’s discord in your house, Captain Tann.”

He didn’t appear to be overly concerned by his subordinate’s boorish behavior. “Easily rectified by handing you over. Credits have a way of soothing all kinds of hurts.”

“It’s adorable that you think so.” Root nodded towards the door. “I’d keep an eye on that one. He still has one good arm to knife you in the back.” Especially if it would increase his share of the bounty.

“Some of your wise, Jedi counsel?”

“More like common sense,” She shrugged. “He’s angry and stupid. Qualities one shouldn’t cultivate in one’s allies.” She leaned back as far as her restraints would allow. “Only my opinion of course…”

Katan’s posture relaxed now that Varner was out of sight. After holstering her weapon, she turned to Root to grumble, “Which no one asked for.”

“Have to keep myself occupied somehow.”

“I can think of a few ways.” She made a show of cracking her knuckles.

Root raked her teeth across her bottom lip, “Want to play do you?”

“She’s not wrong,” Tann interrupted.

“What?” Katan coughed.

“Not about.” He waved his hand between the two women. “Or if she is, I don’t want to know about it.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Varner could be a liability.” What do you know, this one had a functioning sense of self preservation.

“Want me to?” Katan gestured to the blaster on her hip.

“I’ll handle it. You set up guard rotations with the others.” He nodded to Root, “Now that she’s awake I want men on her at all times.”

“Sounds fun,” Root quipped. “Can I choose my playmate?” The heated glance she sent Katan’s way revealed exactly who she’d choose.

“You can keep your mouth shut.”

“Anything for a lady,” She smiled.

“Just handle it, Katan.”

“Aye, Sir.”

After that, Tann made his exit. Katan gestured to Jebb and the boy. “Can you two idiots handle first watch with 2EP-16?” Root assumed that was the droid still lingering in the hallway just outside of the door.

When the pair nodded their confirmation, Katan walked back over to Root. “Lift your arms.”

“Kind of an issue at the moment,” She breezily replied. When she didn’t move, Katan grabbed the binders and hauled Root forward. “Oh I do like a gal with a bit of muscle.”

The other woman ignored her, continuing to check the binders and the chain attached to them. When she was apparently satisfied that Root wasn’t going anywhere, she waved Jebb and the kid back over. “I’ll relieve you in four hours.”

“Going so soon?” Root pouted at her. “You aren’t actually bedding little boy blue are you?”

In lieu of answering, the woman removed what looked to be a stun baton from her belt. Seriously, this was a gal after Root’s own heart. She held out the baton to Jebb. “She so much as wiggles her big toe you hit her with this.” She gestured to something on the handle. “Preset to seventy-five percent charge.”

“That level is enough to stop someone’s heart,” The boy gasped. So young. So blind to the harsher realities of life. Root really did wonder how he had fallen in with this lot.

“Jedi aren’t just anyone, kid.”

“If I might interrupt, I’m no Jedi.” Root couldn’t even begin to wedge that big of a stick in her ass. She’d never learned that particular Force technique. Not that she wanted to, but the fact remained…

“In that case, I’ll set it to full charge.” Katan adjusted the instrument accordingly. Then she shoved it into Jebb’s hand.

Once again the boy paled. “It’ll kill her.”

“Psssht.” That wasn’t a given. Root looked up at Katan, and then nodded to the boy. “I find his lack of faith in my abilities disturbing.”

“I find your kind disturbing.” She pointed to Root and then to the top of the t-shaped split in the facemask of her helmet where her eyes should be. “I want eyes on her the entire time. If she’s not a Jedi, then she’s playing Vader’s side of the street and that’s much worse.”

Jebb nodded. The boy looked like he might be sick. With good reason, Lord Vader’s legend had spread far and wide. He was not to be trifled with. Warning given, Katan walked out without another word.

“Not a Sith either,” Root couldn’t help but call after the woman. Jebb activated the baton and waved it at her. “What? Those aren’t the only options you know.”

The boy cocked his head to the side. “What else is there if you’re not a Jedi or Sith?”

“I am a seeker of hidden truths,” Root replied sagely. At his blank expression she elaborated. “The Force is my friend. My meaning. My purpose. I am the Force and the Force is me.”

“Isn’t that exactly what the Jedi said?”

“Hardly,” Root drawled. No love. No aggression. No passion. She thought of Harold and all his lectures about control. Of how only in a void of emotion could she find true peace. She smirked. If that lesson hadn’t proven rather ironic in recent years.

Her old friend didn’t appreciate the irony nearly as well as she did.

She shook her head, for she had gone off track. “The Jedi limit themselves and thus their understanding.” Though the Sith were hardly better. Too much of everything with that lot, no balance, made you a slave to your worst impulses. “They fear the Force in a way, believing in light and dark as they do.”

“But there is a dark side.”

“No,” Root corrected, “There is only the Force.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Not many do, I’m afraid.” It was the very reason she had left her home. To share the knowledge of the true power of the Force.

Few were willing to listen. Of those, most were like Harold, they only listened in hopes that they could steer her to what they saw as the true path. Fat lot of good such a path had done him, seeing as when Root first found him he was cowering, crippled, hiding away from the Galactic Empire and its Jedi hunting forces.

Harold also did not appreciate the fact that Root still enjoyed pointing that out from time to time.

“I still don’t see a difference.”

Root shook her head as she was drawn back to the conversation at hand. “Pardon?”

“A difference, between what you’re saying and how the stories describe the Jedi. Seems like it’s the same thing to me.”

Oh to be that young and oblivious again. “Suffice it to say, my relationship with the Force is a bit more, intimate.” Root smirked, “Speaking of intimacy.”

“I don’t think we were,” The boy mumbled. Jebb told her to shut up, again. Possibly threw in a few curses against her mother and house. Her Huttese was, frankly, a little rusty.

Root, of course, kept right on talking despite the slight language barrier. “Your lady friend in the armor? Any idea of what she looks like underneath?”

The boy began sputtering. Jebb’s face screwed up in an expression of disgust that made him look rather like an angry lime. He waved the shock baton in her face. “Is that a tip? She into that sort of thing?” Now that really would be delightful.

Jebb clearly did not share in her excitement at the prospect. He activated the baton. The boy whimpered. Jebb told him to shut up and then poked the bit of exposed skin just below Root’s throat with the baton.

Root’s body seized as the electricity flowed through her. “You fellas sure know how to treat a girl,” She wheezed when the current stopped for a moment. “Are you certain Katan can’t join in?” Jebb hit her again with the live electrode.

She allowed her eyes to slip closed and began to focus on the flow of current as it weaved through her body. She’d had much worse. The only pain is that which we allow, the only pain is that which we allow, she repeated in her mind.

When Root opened her eyes again the lights were low. Day and night were subjective concepts when floating through the vastness of space, but it appeared that the crew had transferred into their version of overnight running. She was still chained, laying on her back across the bench. The bulkhead could use a good scrubbing she noted from her prone position. One of the grease stains looked a bit like a womp rat.

Shake. Shake. Roll. Clank.

Root turned her head. Several of the crew were gathered around a large table on the opposite side of the mess. Jebb and the boy, the droid, and the Quara from earlier. They were playing a dice game of some sort.

Shake. Shake. Roll. Clank.

The men would cheer or curse given the position of the dice when they landed. Money exchanged hands. More bets were placed. The next player scooped up the dice and dumped them back into a battered, metal cup.

Shake. Shake. Roll. Clank.

Shake. Shake. Roll. Clank.

The sound seemed to be never ending. How did these idiots have so many credits to waste? Root was beginning to hate this game. She took a deep breath in through her nose and held it within her chest as she concentrated on a cup sitting on a nearby counter. She closed her eyes and pictured the cup rising into the air as she exhaled.

When Root opened her eyes the cup was floating several inches above the counter. She allowed it to float slowly back down. Her body was still weak but enough of her strength had returned. She smiled.

It was time to leave.

She slipped a miniscule length of wire from her left sleeve. Meant to look like a sensor connecting her gauntlet to the rest of her armor, it had been overlooked when she had been searched. She jammed the wire into the mechanism of the binders currently keeping her wrists secured to the bench. Root grinned when there was a soft click and her restraints loosened.

Then something curious occurred.

The ship stopped. Amidst all the noise from the game, none of the men noticed when the steady hum of the ship’s engines went away. But Root did.

_Go, go now._

Root wasn’t about to question that directive, nor her good fortune. She slipped her right hand free from the binders without any one of her guards even twitching in her direction. She slowly sat up. And still no one paid her any mind. Root concentrated her gaze on the boy preparing to roll the dice.

Shake.

More precisely, the dice themselves.

Shake.

Root reached out with the Force the moment the dice left the cup. Usually when she performed this little parlor trick she was the one physically throwing a small object before augmenting that object’s trajectory and speed with the Force. But in this instance she had to play the house rules, so to speak.

As her eyes tracked the three dice as they flew through the air and struck Jebb, the droid, and the Quara in the temple, eye socket, and throat respectively, she decided on further examination that she rather liked this game.

“How…” The boy rose from his seat, sending his chair toppling backwards.

“Sorry about that,” She whispered, now standing at his side. “And this too actually.”

He turned his head to look at her with wide eyes. He managed a “Wha…” before he began convulsing from the shock of electrical current flowing from her fingertips. He fell to the deck, small flashes of what looked like black lightning leeching from his limbs into the metal below.

“Don’t worry,” Root drawled as she stood over his spasming body. “I know it feels like it, but this isn’t enough charge to kill you.” Not that she had the strength to even if she wanted at the moment.

He didn’t exactly need to know that.

She gave the boy another light zap for good measure. Soon his eyes fell closed. She knelt down and checked his pulse.

_He will be fine._

“I know that,” Root quipped. “I do hope that I’m not required to spare everyone else on this ship. That could prove to be a bit cumbersome.”

_Your objective is escape. A confrontation with Vader should be avoided at all costs._

“Agreed. As I told the boy, we are so in sync.”

Now Root had two goals to accomplish. One: retrieve her lightsabers. The materials to construct them were harder to come by these days. It would be such a waste to leave them behind. Two: find the nearest escape pod and get the hell off this ship. If necessary, she’d skip the first and go directly point two.

It was always good to be flexible, after all.

_The way is clear._

Speaking of…

Root slipped from the galley and began making her way down the hall. Halfway down, she ducked into the storage area. The room looked to be mostly used as a pantry. The few crates inside were marked as various food items. Root wasn’t looking for a snack however.

_Left._

She turned her head and smiled. “Thank you.” She walked over to the left side of the room and activated a small terminal.

Root brought up the ship’s navigation program on the screen. “Hmm,” She clicked her tongue against her teeth. It seemed there were several habitable planets in the area. She’d borrow the ship’s escape pod and make her way to the most populated one. Hop, or steal, a shuttle from there and be out of the system before anyone could say may the Force be with you.

She next brought up a map of the ship. It was exactly as she suspected. As a converted civilian craft, the lone escape pod was located near the crew quarters on the upper deck. She’d need to go back out into the hallway, pass the engine room and then up a ladder to the main cargo hold.

The escape pod was on the other side of that. She’d cut across the open space and, fate willing, slip into the pod. She could run through the launch sequence in a matter of minutes. The real issue would be if the rest of the crew had been more observant than the group in the galley. She’d still be at a slight disadvantage if met with armed resistance.

She idly noted that there was a room marked as the armory just off of the hold as well. Most likely where they had stashed her gauntlets and lightsabers. “One quick stop and then into the pod,” She thought aloud.

_Be wary._

“Where’s the fun in that?”

_Remaining alive._

“You make an excellent point.” Root left the room and made her way as planned. Her steps slowed as she neared the engine room. She could hear someone moving around inside. A member of the crew attempting repairs perhaps?

Root took extra care to keep her steps light as she moved quickly towards the ladder. The climb wasn’t difficult and in a matter of minutes she was crawling up and onto the floor of the main cargo hold. The room was dark. The only light came from an instrument panel on the opposite side of the cavernous space.

Several stacks of crates cast shadows across the area. Root glanced around. The armory should be somewhere on her left. While the escape pod would be at the opposite corner of the room from where she was currently standing near that instrument panel.

_Down._

She barely managed to dive behind a stack of crates in time for a volley of blaster fire to miss disintegrating her where she had previously stood. “What did you do to my ship?” Tann shouted from somewhere deeper into the cargo hold.

Root peered around the edge of the crates. “Would you believe me if I told you it was a fortunate happenstance?” More blaster fire was her answer. Seemed the good captain wasn’t interested in the truth.

How many men were with him?

Katan and Varner had yet to make an appearance. She assumed someone had been piloting the ship before it suddenly stopped. Was the pilot the one in the engine room or was it one of the others? She needed to get some idea of her opponents’ location.

Root concentrated on a stack of crates near the center of the room, sending them toppling to the deck. Blaster fire went out from two locations on the opposite side of the room. Three shots. Three gunmen. That left one odd man out.

She heard a click coming from behind her. She glanced over her shoulder and pursed her lips. Katan had finally shown up. “Easy,” The armor-clad woman directed. “Stand up.” Root did as she was told, putting her hands in the air she stood and stepped out of her hiding place. “Tann, you can come out. I’ve got her.”

The overhead lights came on. Tann and Varner stood up and stepped into view. Now that Root could see clearly, she noted that the armory door was situated almost exactly between her position and that of the angry crewmen. Speaking of angry, Tann glared at Katan. “Where have you been?”

“Engine room. The sublight engines are completely blown by the way.” Which meant this ship was dead in the water if they didn’t have any replacement parts on board.

“Doesn’t matter. We’re close enough to the rendezvous point. Lord Vader will find us. We can barter for parts with his crew once we hand this one over.”

“I’m sure the five of you will have a lovely time together.” Root took a shuffling step to the right. She felt more than heard Katan echoing her move. “It’s one invitation that I’ll have to decline however.”

“You’re outnumbered, surrounded and unarmed.” Tann waved his hand and a pale, thin man, who must have been the pilot, stepped into the light as well. He took up a position in front of the armory door. His weapon trained on Root. “It’s obvious what the wise choice is here.”

She rolled her eyes. Darth Vader was on the way. Technically, letting one of these idiots shoot her in the head this very moment would be the wise choice. Vader would not be nearly as merciful. Negotiation was apparently not Tann’s strong suit.

Still she wasn’t in the mood to fully become one with the Force today.

Root glanced around. If only she could get into that armory. Having her weapons would even the odds substantially. She attempted to pull the door open with the Force, but she was still far too weak to accomplish that feat. Even with her slight recovery, it was simply too heavy for her in her current condition.

Perhaps she could muster up enough focus to toss more of the crates at her opponents now that she had better sight lines. That would buy her more time. For that matter, she could always toss the crates, leave her weapons and break for the escape pod. She might make it without taking a shot to the back.

“Looking for your little toys?” Tann laughed as he noticed her gaze tracking across the room. “That lock is code protected and the door itself is triple reinforced. No one is getting in there without my permission.”

“Yeah, about that.” Root looked back over her shoulder. Katan was holding up her left hand. She had a detonator of some kind. “I changed the passcode.” Root dove back behind the crates as she pressed the button.

The small explosion was nearly deafening in such tight quarters. The door flew off its hinges in a shower of sparks and crushed the poor unfortunate pilot. Smoke began to fill the area. There was blaster fire. Someone hit the overhead light plunging the room back into near total darkness.

Root reached out with the Force. In a heartbeat the curved handles of her lightsabers were once again resting in the palm of her hands. She activated the blades with a familiar wersrsh. She stepped out from her makeshift cover surrounded by a halo of purple light.

“Now what was it you said about wise choices?” She easily deflected the blaster fire that followed that question. It was like a dance. She twirled and whirled the blades of her lightsabers flashing. Sparks flew from deflected blasts of weapons fire.

She was closing in on Tann when a plume of white suddenly dropped from the ceiling forcing Root to step back. They’d somehow activated the fire suppression system. Root coughed and sputtered as the air around her grew hazy.

_Left twenty-seven degrees. Throw above your head with your right hand_.

Root moved quickly to follow those instructions. Soon her lightsaber was meeting the ceiling in a shower of sparks. The system ceased sending its chemicals into the air. She easily caught her weapon as it fell back to the deck. Unfortunately for Root, the bounty hunters had managed to conceal themselves while she was disabling the system. She could hear someone moving about but didn’t know if they were friend or foe.

“Come out, come out wherever you are,” Root mockingly called out. “Or are you too cowardly to face me without chicanery?”

The barb elicited exactly the response she was hoping for. “I don’t know what sort of mind-trickery you used on Katan to get her to mutiny…”

“Charm and charisma do seem to be concepts foreign to you,” Root drawled as she deflected yet another blast of laser fire. Tann’s hiding place was obvious to her now. “Courage too; tell me did you cower like this from all your targets or am I special?”

"We get a bonus for bringing you in alive, but since you killed the others, I think we can stand to lose that what with getting their shares, and just turn in your corpse."

There was an echo of blaster fire and a thud from somewhere behind Root. “Varner you alive?” Tann called out. “Varner?”

Root smirked. “Sounds like you won’t be splitting anything with anyone.”

“You’re going to be the most satisfying bounty I’ve ever cashed in,” Tann stepped into view and began firing two guns at once.

Her lightsabers were nothing but a purple blur as she twisted them, sending the laser fire careening about the hold. Several crates fell victim to her advance. “Promises, promises.”

Tann kept firing, but Root’s movements forced him to take step after step backwards until he ran out of space to back into. As she closed in, the blade in her right hand severed the barrel of blaster in his left. Root took another step. Tann rapidly jerked the trigger on his remaining weapon. She easily deflected every shot until, with a flick of her wrist she destroyed that weapon as well.

“Would you be interested in surrendering? I’m sure Lord Vader will be…well not merciful but I’m willing to give you a bit of time to settle your affairs.”

“I knew we never should have gotten involved with a Jedi.”

Root decided not to correct him on his terminology. It would be tacky at this juncture. Her eyes narrowed as she noticed him fumbling with something on his belt. “Don’t,” She cautioned.

Tann ignored her, pulling a short blade. The instant he lifted his arm to strike at her, Root lashed out with her own weapon severing the hand holding the knife from his arm. She turned and similarly took his head.

The emergency lights came on. Katan was standing next to the instrument panel. Her blaster was pointed at Root’s head. “Sloppy,” She tisked without looking away from the screen.

Root slowly made her way around Tann’s body and came to stand just in front of Katan. She held the tip of the lightsaber in her left hand a hair’s breadth from the other woman’s chest. She smiled, “I’m impressed, Sameen.” The last bounty hunter lowered her gun. Root deactivated her lightsabers in turn.

“With which part? The gassing, the tasing, or whatever the hell we’re calling this mess?” She reached up and removed her helmet. Root smiled as her favorite sight in the galaxy was revealed. Sameen Shaw, former Operative of the Galactic Republic, turned rebel soldier.

“You,” Root breathily replied. “Just you.”

Shaw shook her head. “This went pear shaped quicker than I thought it would.” She walked across the room to the armory and set her helmet down on a bench just inside the door.

“I thought we handled this encounter rather elegantly,” Root argued. “I especially appreciated your dramatic entrance and the following pyrotechnics.” She put a hand to her heart. “Truly, I nearly swooned and ruined the whole thing.”

“Speaking of ruining things,” Shaw glowered at her through the doorway, “Do you have any idea how long it took me to build this cover?”

Of course she did. “I counted every agonizing moment we were apart, Sweetie.”

Shaw scoffed, “Whatever.” She felt a poke in her ribs even though Root was standing well away from her. “Stop it.”

If anything the poking grew more persistent. “Admit it, you missed me too.”

“Like an intestinal parasite,” Shaw grumbled as she began stuffing various munitions into a bag.

Root chuckled. It was an old joke between them. “Well, I missed you.”

“Of course you did.”

“Are you doubting my devotion?”

“No, just your sanity.” Shaw turned to face her again. “Getting caught on a holo? What if Vader had got to you first?”

“I knew you were nearby.” It was the entire point, in fact. “It’s well past time for you to come home.”

“I’ve been doing good work,” Shaw argued. “Do you know how many listening devices I’ve managed to plant on Imperial installations in this sector?”

“More than enough for your little rebels to worship you almost as much as I do.” When that statement did nothing to diminish Shaw’s glare, Root elaborated, “You were bumping against diminishing returns. You’ve hit every low to mid-level secure facility. The next phase would either end up with your scheme discovered or worse you dead. I’m not going to allow them risk you…”

“First of all,” Shaw walked over to Root and poked her in the chest, “No one allows me do anything.”

“Poor phrasing…”

She glared up at her. “You think?”

Root nodded and then licked her lips. “I know you’re upset with me right now but I think you should know that I’m quite turned on.” It was a natural reaction with Shaw standing this close.

That earned her a rather impressive eye roll. “You’re a pain in my ass.”

“I’d certainly like to do something to your ass…” Root gasped as Shaw gripped the back of her neck and pulled her down into a ferocious kiss. The gasp turned into a moan as Shaw raked her teeth across Root’s lower lip.

Had she mentioned that she missed this woman? Missed was far too light a term.

She allowed her eyes to slip closed as she reveled in their moment of reconnection. Despite the chaos around them, the bodies, the still smoking remains of the cargo that had been destroyed, the fact that Vader was on his way, despite it all Root was home. Shaw was like gravity, inescapable.

The energy between her and Sameen was the only power in Root’s experience that rivaled that of the Force.

Far too soon for Root’s liking, the moment ended. Shaw smirked when she finally stepped away. “It was still a stupid plan.”

She gestured between the two of them. “No plan that ends like that could ever be considered stupid, Sameen.”

“At least you were the one in cuffs getting electrocuted this time.”

“Ah memories,” She sighed. Root hopped up and sat down on one of the remaining crates. “Honestly, I can’t believe Jebb had the gall to call himself a bounty hunter and yet he didn’t realize you had the stun baton set on low the entire time.”

Shaw shrugged, “The guy couldn’t read.”

“How fortunate for me.” Root tapped her fingers against her knee, “The minor shock did cause my body to burn through more of the chemicals that anesthetic gas left in my system.”

“Almost as if I planned it that way.”

“You do realize I am still not back to full strength?”

“Still had enough juice to kick a little ass,” Shaw noted. “Because of me. You also got your lightsabers back, and in the interim no one shot you in the head. All because of me.”

“Don’t be smug, Sweetie.”

“Seriously?”

“What?” Root held a hand to her chest. “I am never smug.”

“Uh huh.”

“Not without reason.”

“Pretty sure with you, breathing is a reason.”

“My isn’t someone complementary today.” She smiled, “Someone clearly missed me.”

Shaw opened her mouth to reply and then snapped it shut with a scowl. She shook her head as she stomped back over to the armory doorway. She stepped out of view for an instant and reappeared with another knapsack in her hand.

“What happened to the kid?”

Root wiggled the fingers of her left hand. A smattering of black sparks danced in the air just above her fingertips. “You’re the one who suggested a little electrical play.”

Shaw pinched the bridge of her nose. “Don’t know which is worse, if you killed him or just managed to scar him for life.”

She waved her comment off, “Please, he has a story for the ages now. Lone survivor of a battle with a legendary warrior.”

“Scarred for life,” Shaw deadpanned.

“Which does mean he’s still alive.”

“That case, I’ll go down and get him.” She nodded towards the escape pod. “Do me a favor and set a course for the nearest inhabited planet.”

“Anything for you.”

Plotting the appropriate course was simple enough. Root entered the coordinates she had planned on using herself. The planet was so well occupied that any new arrivals could get lost in the crowd. There were also enough ships going to and fro that no one would pay any particular attention to anyone wanting to get off world quickly.

She had just completed her task when she heard Shaw’s footsteps echoing down the hallway below. Root wandered over to the ladder. “Do you need me to levitate him?” It would be cumbersome even for Shaw to climb up the ladder while carrying another person, even a thin one.

“Nah,” Shaw was conspicuously alone as she stepped into view.

“I thought you were bringing your young friend along?” It was confusing. She was sure that is what Sameen had said. And Root knew for a fact that she hadn’t killed the boy.

“I am.”

She cocked her head to the side. “Sweetie, did you get hit on the head?”

Shaw rolled her eyes as she began to climb up the ladder. “I put him in the elevator.”

“There’s an elevator on this hunk of junk?”

“We used it to move supplies to and from the engine room and the galley.” She reached the top of the ladder and hopped up on to the deck. “Hold this,” She handed Root the knapsack from earlier. By the weight of it, she assumed her partner had filled it with supplies from the storage area near the galley.

Shaw waved Root over to a large panel on the same wall as the opening for the ladder. She pressed a red button and there was a loud clank. Soon the wall began to split open, revealing a compartment about as tall as Shaw and twice as wide. The boy was laying on his side on the floor. He was still unconscious. “I’ll give you this,” Shaw grunted as she knelt and then lifted the boy into her arms. “You never do anything half way.”

“Any job worth doing,” Root hummed in agreement.

Shaw crossed the cargo hold and loaded the kid onto the escape pod. Then she placed the knapsack on the seat beside him. “There’s enough food and credits in there to last him a while if he’s smart.” She stepped back and hit the mechanism to close the door. “May the Force be with you,” She grumbled and then activated the launch program.

The pair watched in silence on the monitor as the pod broke away from the ship and floated away. When it was nothing more than a pinprick against a vast expanse of black, Root turned to Shaw, “Not to question your brilliant tactics or anything, but now that the only escape pod is gone, how exactly are we going to elude Vader and his pack of hunters on a disabled ship?”

Shaw rolled her eyes. “I called in a favor the instant you were brought on board.”

“Oh?”

“You didn’t think the ship just so happened to stop all on its own?”

“Of course not.” That would be a ridiculous coincidence. It was obvious that Shaw had been the one to disable the engines. Her girl was brilliant after all.

“Well then you should know that I wouldn’t leave us stranded without a plan,” Shaw grumbled. “Our new ride should be here any moment now.”

“Have I ever mentioned how sexy I find it when you scheme?”

“Please,” Shaw scoffed, “You find everything I do sexy. Seriously, it borders on creepy.”

“You joke, but it’s true.” She ran her fingertips across the back of Shaw’s neck. “It’s your curse in life.”

“Finally, we agree,” Shaw quipped.

“You know I’m quite agreeable when it comes to you.”

That earned yet another eye roll. Sometimes Shaw made it far too easy. She’d missed it terribly. “You’ve been saving all this up for months haven’t you?”

Root nodded in agreement. “I’m certain I nearly burst something.” The first few weeks hadn’t been so bad. There had been many tasks with which to occupy her time. But as the days went on Root found that the usual intrigues paled without Shaw by her side. “I’d be even more agreeable, if we never were parted that long again.”

Shaw sighed. It was an unusual gesture on her part. She cleared her throat. “Things might,” She held up a finger. “Might have been a little boring without your constant, annoying presence.”

“So we’ll stick together from now on?”

“Sure, Root. Someone does have to make sure you don’t go running past every security holo in the galaxy on a whim.”

“I told you that was all part of my brilliant plan.”

“And I still say that plan was as brilliant as banta crap.”

Before Root could reply an alarm began to sound. “Should we be concerned?”

Shaw shook her head. “Sounds like our ride is here. That’s a proximity alert.” She checked something on the monitor. “We should head down to the airlock.” Root had been wondering how they were going to go about making their exit. It wasn’t exactly like they could open up this cargo area in the middle of a vacuum.

Root followed her as she walked back over to the armory and grabbed the bag of weapons she had packed earlier. “Oh yeah.” Shaw turned and handed Root her gauntlets.

“Thanks.”

Shaw shrugged as she tucked her own helmet under her arm. “Good armor is a bitch to replace.” Soon she was leading Root back down the ladder and down a side corridor Root had missed in her earlier explorations just past the entrance to the engine room. They ended up in a small staging area, which contained a handful of battered storage lockers and a small docking port.

“The design of this ship is almost nonsensical.”

“I didn’t pick this crew for their genius.”

 “Or their sense of design,” Root drawled. “It’s almost offensive.”

“Speaking of offensive,” Shaw nodded to the ship approaching them through the small viewport on the airlock.

Root glanced at the ship and then back over at her. She knew exactly who Shaw had summoned to collect them and frankly she was more than a little shocked. “You didn’t.”

“What? You expected me to call Harold?”

“No.” That was ridiculous. Harold hardly ever left the system of caverns he had turned into a poor facsimile of the grand Jedi archive. Granted, it was for a good reason. Lord Vader wasn’t just a danger for her. Any Jedi (in Root’s case Jedi-adjacent), or those harboring them were to be hunted down and disposed of with no quarter, no mercy. Harold was in no shape to face the likes of him. Not that many were. For that very reason, their list of allies was scant. “I’m simply astonished he showed up.”

“He owes me,” Shaw shrugged. “He also likes you for some reason.”

“Who doesn’t?” Root quipped.

“I have my days.”

“And I shall have your nights,” Root countered. “Possibly afternoons. It’s been quite some time; judging by that kiss, we have much to make up for.”

That earned her a smirk. “You know I’m going to expect you to back up all this talk.”

“Oh, Sweetie, I always make good on my promises.” She was looking forward to it.

They watched as the ship drew closer. Soon Shaw was keying in the sequence to cycle the airlock as the other ship docked with theirs. She glanced over her shoulder at Root. “Just let me handle the talking for once, okay?”

“He’s our friend. As you said he likes me. Why must you handle anything?”

Shaw raised an eyebrow at that question. “Yes, but you do remember what happened the last time we were with him…”

“Oh that was nothing,” Root cut her off. “He wouldn’t have shown up if he was still holding a grudge about that.”

She didn’t appear convinced by that logic. “Uh huh.”

“Honestly, Sameen you worry too much.”

“Right.”

With a clank and a hiss, the door opened. They heard footsteps and then a Gamorrean appeared. He was wearing a gray flight suit. There were crumbs of some kind dotting its chest area. It was a bit of an oddity to see one of the boar-like creatures piloting a ship on his own, as they weren’t known as an overly intelligent species. Though in Root’s experience there were exceptions to every rule.

Their friend here, despite his slovenly appearance, was one of them.

He grunted when he caught sight of Shaw. Root wasn’t certain if the expression on his face was a grimace or a smile. It was difficult to discern, what with the tusks and all.

Shaw nodded to him. “Right on time for once.” He grunted at her. “I’m surprised you’re not dead by now either.” She moved to step through the air lock and onto his ship but he held out his arm to block her path.

“What?” She snapped at him.

His eyes narrowed. The skin of his cheeks flushed a darker shade of green. He pointed a pudgy finger at Root and began grunting rapidly. Perhaps she had been mistaken about the whole topic of grudge keeping. She held up her hands in an attempt to appear placating. “Now Lionel, that was quite a long time ago.”

Higher pitched grunting followed.

“But it grew back, didn’t it?”

A squeal.

“Okay, just stop with the drama.” Shaw shoved past him. When in doubt blast your way through. “You knew I was with her when I called you and you showed up anyway.”

Broad shoulders slumped. Lionel stepped to the side and wearily motioned for Root to climb on board. She paused when she was standing next to him. “I missed you too.”

Lionel rolled his eyes and shook his head.

“Tell me you haven’t been feeding Bear this crap!” Shaw demanded from deeper within the ship.

Root smiled. It was good to be home.


End file.
